Political Coma

For several years I have basically been in a basic political coma, generally tuning out and being non-responsive when anything of a political nature was discussed.  My only occational responses to anything political was a rejection of nearly all things political as being vain and self-interested, and I still stand by that as an appropriate description of most politicians.  I find that for the most part, the only people who are sufficeintly motiviated to go into politics despite the obvious stresses and troubles it brings, are motived primarily by an intense desire for power and noteriery, and thus not motiviated by any form of principles.
I have not always been in a political coma.  I studied political science in college and was involved in different campaigns.  Later, while in law school I worked in the North Carolina State Senate.  I probably fell into a political coma while I was there, for it was there that I saw what I called 'the joke of public service.'  What I saw was a struggle for more power, pandering to constituent complaints including barking dogs and potholes in order to ensure continued power, and free parties, lunches, dinners, drinks and dancing. It's not that I believe there were no principled politicians who acted based on their believes and what they felt was the good of the state, but I certainly didn't get to see them at work.   So I fell into a political coma, and later work with politicians only made me sink deeper into that coma (though I did get to work with few elected officals that were and are stellar). 
Recently, something happened to make me start to emerge from my coma, but that is a story for another day.